North Wales Assembly Member and Chair of the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty, Mark Isherwood AM, has emphasised the need for the next Welsh Government to support independent advice services to help and support people in fuel poverty.

Questioning the Minister for Natural Resources in the Assembly this week over support for people in fuel poverty, Mr Isherwood said:

“We need the whole-person approach as well as the whole-house approach, which is why it’s a social justice issue. However, the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the energy market noted that households in Wales are particularly unlikely to shop around. How, therefore, do you respond to the call in the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru manifesto for the next Welsh Government to support independent advice services to help and support people in fuel poverty - emphasis on ‘independent’?”

In his reply, the Minister Carl Sargeant AM, failed to answer the question.

He said: “I’m very proud of the energy efficiency scheme that we have here in Wales. It’s making a tremendous impact on communities across the length and breadth of Wales. Let’s take, for instance, what is happening with his party over the border. There is no national energy efficiency programme in England.”

Mr Isherwood added: “The Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru is not about party politics in England, but Cross Party Action in Wales. His failure to answer my question is telling.”